Join us for the second panel of the 2022 Gene Drive Webinar Series titled “Key Considerations for Risk Assessments of Gene Drive Technologies” which will take place on June 16th at 2:00 pm Singapore time. The session will bring together an eclectic mix of researchers working on the topic as part of the Outreach Network’s efforts to contribute to an informed debate on gene drives.

The first webinar of the 2022 Gene Drive Webinar Series provided participants with an introduction to different types of gene drives and how guidance and frameworks need to be able to adapt to these differences. An initiative led by the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research and the ISAAA SE Asia Center, the panel Gene Drive Organisms: There is no one size fits all also discussed gene drive regulation and oversight, as well as the appropriateness of current guidelines, best practices, and gaps.

By Ben J. Novak, Lead Scientist, Revive & Restore

On May 22, the world comes together to celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity, an occasion to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity and current conservation challenges. Some geographical areas, such as islands, are more vulnerable than others to biodiversity loss. Islands are biodiversity “hot spots”, but approximately half of the 724 recorded animal extinctions in the past 4 centuries were island species.

As part of our efforts to contribute to an informed debate on gene drive, the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research is partnering again with the ISAAA SEAsiaCenter to organise the 2022 Gene Drive Webinar Series.

When alien species are introduced to a new location, they often bring with them new illnesses that were previously not present in the area. Pathogen overflow doesn’t just take place in areas where alien species are well established but can also happen in locations where these species’ presence in the environment is only temporary. Although we know that alien plant and animal hosts play an important role as vectors of dangerous pathogens, the role of invasive alien species (IAS) as a contributing factor to disease outbreaks throughout the world has not yet fully been addressed.